TL Audio Fat Track - Manual (Page 21)

20
Warming up a stereo mix via the Fat Track
Sometimes you may just want to inject some life into, or warm up your final stereo
mix. It is very easy to do this with the Fat Track, giving you a great sounding back end
to your DAW or general recording set up. Having a quality analogue back end to your
system can put soul and life back into your recordings, taking away that clinical, dull
sound.
You do not have to make it sound ‘coloured’ though, run your mix through without
any added EQ to simply open up your sound giving more clarity and definition. Or
you can use the musical, British EQ section to add some warmth, sparkle and depth to
your mix.
If you are not sure where to start with EQing a stereo mix, it may be useful to start
with the ‘smile curve’ EQ boost. This principal is used in many Consumer HiFi and
Pro Audio Exciter effects to enhance the sound. The curve consists of a small boost in
the low, a small boost in the high, and either a small cut or a flat response for the mid.
By all means play around with the EQ on the Fat Track to create your desired sound,
but remember only small changes should be made to a finished mix otherwise your
result may become imbalanced. Less is more! The EQ section on the Fat Track is
taken from our M series consoles and is very smooth and musical; this means that you
can push your settings a little further whilst still maintaining a pleasant sound.
1. Connect your stereo mix from your source (DAW / Master Tape) via the line
inputs on each channel
2. Make sure you have the channels switched to ‘LINE’ and also have the pan
controls turned ‘LEFT’ and ‘RIGHT’ for each side of your mix.
3. You may then add any EQ cuts or boosts that you require, it is sensible to
frequently A/B your EQ changes by switching the ‘EQ ON’ button in and out
for comparison. You ear can very quickly get used to EQ changes so it is
always wise to keep referring to your original.
4. There is the option of using the Fat Track as a complete mastering device too,
by patching in a stereo compressor / limiter to the balanced inserts on the
master bus. Again you can A/B your changes from the Fat Track directly, by
using the ‘INSERT ON’ button to switch the dynamic processor in and out.
5. When you are happy with your sound, you can then simply take the stereo
output (either main balanced, main unbalanced, or tape out) from your Fat
Track to your main recording device.